Happy Sunday!

Welcome to the fifth edition of The Sunday Stir! Hope you had a wonderful Christmas. We're only a few days away from 2021. Normally NYE is one of my favorite holidays — everyone is in a good mood and ready to celebrate. But this year it's going to look very different. Whatever you're doing this New Year, make sure you take some time to reflect on 2020.

Alrighty, on to the Stir!

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The World of Time and Money

This article really hit home. I can get lost in the pursuit of wealth. Money can be a huge focus where I forsake and sacrifice everything else -- like living an enjoyable life.

How many unfortunate souls ran out of time before they ran out of money?

All those people who saved diligently for a retirement that never came. Decades of financial responsibility without the promised rewards. No extra family time. No nice vacations. No new hobbies. All because of a virus that ended their story too soon. A black swan. An unknown unknown that changed everything.

If you ask 1,000 American adults how much money you need to be considered rich, they will say $2.3 million. But if you ask the same question to 1,000 millionaires the number increases to $7.5 million. We get richer yet still feel like we don’t have enough.

I raise this point because too many people give up too much for the sake of money. Money that they may never get to fully spend anyways! So why would you sacrifice time with your family, your physical health, or your mental health just to save a few extra bucks? Is it worth giving up your daily lattes, guacamole at Chipotle, or time with your children just so that you can bequeath an extra $10,000?

There’s no honor in winning “Richest Person in the Cemetery” if you can’t enjoy the journey getting there.

Big takeaways: Don't be Ebenezer Scrooge. Sacrificing your time on Earth to collect money that'll never use. Use money to create freedom in your life.

The World of Creativity

Ever had an idea strike you when you were in the shower? Our most creative ideas come to us, not when we're thinking super hard about a problem, but when we're relaxed and our mind is wandering.

Resist the temptation to think harder. Do the opposite instead. Turn the challenge of creativity over to your subconscious mind. Flashes of clarity arise when we least expect them. They emerge during periods of rest and relaxation, often after periods of deep thought and contemplation. Creativity is like a rubber band. It depends on the cycle of tension and release. While intense thinking often comes before creativity, new ideas tend to appear when the body is loose and the mind is relaxed.

It reminds me of scene from Mad Men where Don Draper tells Peggy, a young copywriter, “Peggy, just think about it. Deeply. Then forget it. And an idea will jump up in your face.” This article talks about how to use your subconscious (and other practical ways) to stimulate creativity in your life.

The World of Meal Plans / Grocery Shopping

Enter Mealime. I started using this app last week and it's awesome. You put in any dietary preferences (dairy-free, gluten-free, soy-free, whatever if you have any) and then you get to select a bunch of meals that you'd like to eat. Once you've selected the meals you want make at home, it automatically works up a grocery list so you know everything that you'll need to get when you're at the grocery store. Once you have the groceries, you just click on the meal and voila, it gives you instructions. I feel like serious chef making these meals. Highly recommend if you're trying to cook at home and want to eat tasty meals!

The World of Resolutions

There's nothing magically about the New Year but we can use it as a landmark to signify we're going to make changes in our life. Most people set too lofty of goals for themselves. And they try to start several new difficult habits at the same time. That's a recipe for giving up mid January. Keep resolutions easy at first. For example, you're wanting to start flossing every night and your resolution would look like this - "Each night I'm going to floss one tooth." This is an incredibly easy goal. Once you floss one tooth, you'll floss the rest because you set the bar so incredibly low, it's easy to do. It's easier to start with a tiny goal then build upon it. Especially if it's something you've never done before. If you never go to the gym, and your resolution is to go to the gym 5 times a week, you've already set a high bar for yourself. Set a smaller goal, go to the gym 2 times a week. Once you get that down, you can bump up to 3 times a week. Then 4. Then 5. But you need to build the habit of going to the gym first then you can increase frequency.

The World of Proverbs

How much better to get wisdom than gold! To get understanding is to be chosen rather than silver.

Thoughts: Keeping with the theme of this email (money isn't everything), seek wisdom! If the wisest and also the richest man in the world (King Solomon) says that wisdom is better than gold, we had better listen.

End Note

If you've enjoyed the Sunday Stir, I'd love it if you shared it with a friend or two. You can send them here to sign up. I hope you're enjoyed this episode.

I'm writing a piece called The Pursuit of Vitality and want your feedback. Would you like it to be more practical or more philosophical? Practical with examples of how to increase vitality in your life or more philosophical explaining why this under-appreciated asset is so valuable? Or a bit of both perhaps? Let me know what you're like to read.

Live free,

Brennen